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The Future of the Internet
bariswheel writes "An important piece written by a Columbia Law professor addresses sensitive questions about the future of the Internet: "Is it a problem if the gatekeepers (i.e. a duopoly of the local phone and cable companies) discriminate between favored and disfavored uses of the Internet? How would you take it if AT&T makes it slower and harder to reach Gmail and quicker and easier to reach Yahoo! mail? What if I-95 announced an exclusive deal with General Motors to provide a special "rush-hour" lane for GM cars only? Is there something special about "carriers" and infrastructure--roads, canals, electric grids, trains, the Internet--that mandates special treatment? Should content providers like Google, or subscribers like us, pay for the bandwidth consumed?" Here's hoping that sites like Google Techtalks and Channel 9 remain 'free' and available for the next 10 years."
"Again, both consumers, ... are already paying for bandwidth consumed."
Sorry, but your claim is not very forward thinking.
How much do you think it would cost to have a connection that could stream multiple HD television stations to multiple TVs in the household, because that's where we're headed. You're not going to get that for $40 per month. No way. Perhaps $70. Maybe, but then all the people who think $70 is too high then drop their service and you start paying $100.
The cold hard truth is that people need to decide how much bandwith they want to consume. Are you going to stream HD TV to all the TVs in your house? Pay up!
Private corporations, like AT&T, have the right to toss packets on their network however they see fit. If you don't like it, you're free to go access someone else's network who uses rules more to your liking. There is no requirement that they be "neutral" any more than there is a requirement that I must also allow people to put signs in my front-yard who support the war instead of oppose it.
I-95 isn't a private entity, it's a government funded entity, which means the Department of Transportation needs to be neutral.